When is it too much power?

[Gentleman Villain]

Thanks for the comparison between profoto and elinchrom.

Elinchrom makes a frosted dome that fits over their flashtubes
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Dome_for.html

I've never used it before but have always wanted to try it out....your review of profoto makes me even more curious since you said the dome on profoto effects the light quality in a good way

[sboerup]

Ya, you can get the domes for Elinchrom too, but they aren't cheap. Considering the prices between them, it puts Elinchrom heads at the same price level if not more if you add them.

It's hard to describe, but I attribute it to the dome, and also it's finely tuned white balance of the heads. Around 4850 or so, and I know many people that have shot with Profoto, Elinchrom, Dyna, Speedo, Norman, etc . . . and they agree that these 2 things make the light quality (for portraits mainly) from Profoto the most pleasing.

[Gentleman Villain]

How do you think the dome effects grids?

I've tried many ways to soften my elinchrom grids and nothing has ever looked right...but I haven't tried a dome yet...hrmmmm maybe that's the ticket.

[Gentleman Villain]

Originally Posted by sboerup

It's hard to describe, but I attribute it to the dome, and also it's finely tuned white balance of the heads. Around 4850 or so,

That's a good point about the 4850

Elinchrom makes a UV dome that is supposed to warm them up a bit
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Dome_for.html

So basically...profoto is slightly warmer color temp and slightly softer so that makes for good portraits according to many peoples' experience.

IT's possible that Elinchrom could get softer or warmer with a dome but not both at the same time. This is just speculation on my part because I have't tried it yet. But it makes sense from my experience, because I've always considered my Elinchroms to be on the cooler and more specular side without the domes. But I always blamed it on the silver interiors of the softboxes...maybe there is more to it than that.

Well, I'm gonna try a frosted dome with my Elinchrom grids to see if that softens them up a bit...and I'm gonna try a UV dome with my Elinchrom boxes to see if that warms them up a bit...

Sboerup..Thanks for giving me the ideas with your post... I appreciate it.

[J Rabin]

Originally Posted by rajat

...because 150ws is not enough to shoot at f/16 and...1/200sec...some shots, I need background to be many stops darker than the model. I need shutter speeds of 200s when shooting with a 70-200 and not using a tripod so that I can be more mobile. I haven't been able to do it with less power, maybe I'm missing something? I very well could be.

Thanks. Not not missing. My uses are so vastly different. I didn't consider in those terms. You are underexposing ambient by 2+ stops so you need to pound out tons of flash to illuminate subjects. 2 stops is dif between 150 w-s and 600 w-s. Add a modifier losing a stop, and you need big light output.

I don't do portraits, fashion, people with make up or the like who want to look nice (thank gosh) and don't consider light power in those terms. I get it. That's what you mean by overpowering the sun?

Many times I am lighting only part of something, like equipment, machines, or labs. Or for me, most flash is fill, like at on-the go events. 150w-s each into 2 umbrellas can light up a huge group of people at f/11. Not so for a team on gym bleachers, but I don't do that either.

Rarely do I need to "make" ambient light, and if I do its a small area, size of your toenail. Like parasites on an oyster shell. One thing interested me in Elinchrom system was their offering a $2,000 fiber optic adapter kit fitting on flash heads to illuminate small items. But it only works on fan heads, not Ranger.

Maybe Dyna-Lite will do one of those. I think I will get many satisfactory years of use from the Dyna-Lites.

All this arguing about light quality on POTN.
If you put any vendor's decent reputable light bouncing inside a big modifier, that modifier's characteristics ought to have far more impact on the "quality" of light than the head and bulb. I am not into this, but it would seem a Chimera box does not care whose decent flash capacitors from a reputable company are discharging. The modifier surface will have more impact than manufacturers' lamp.
Anybody study and report on this? I don't really care for me, but it seems lots of claims are made. Heck, maybe I don't even belong on POTN. Haha. Sorry, I didn't get where you were going with this. Jack

[Wilt]

Quality of light from an unmodified head or monolight...seems a rather pointless claim when almost no one uses the light in exactly out-of-box form, because almost no one wants an effective 'point source' of light except when mimicing the sun itself. OTOH, my Dynalite heads, even unmodified, are noticeably warmer than my Metz flash, and I appreciate that...I have to put a CTO gel on the Metz to warm it up to be a bit more flattering to a bride at weddings!

Overpowering the sun...When Robert (TMR Design) and I tested a number of flash units, I measured a Dynalite M2000 pumped thru a Dynalite 4040 head with reflector at f/64 at 6' (ISO 200), so ISO 100 GN is 288. Sunny 16 exposure in the sun 1/100 f/16, or f/200 f/11 if I want to maximize sync speed with a 5D shutter. So I can 'equal the sun' out to 26', or provide -1EV fill out to 36' using an f/11 shooting aperture. But 'equal the sun' only out to 18', or provide -1EV fill out to 26' with f/16 shooting aperture.

[rajat]

Originally Posted by sboerup

The Ranger RX packs are awesome to work with, I've owned 2. But, my heart belongs with Profoto. I will disagree with others that ABs and Elinca and Profoto all produce the same light . . . they don't. Profoto's light quality is just different, a good different. I attribute it to the crystal glass over the flash tube. Anyway . . .

This is precisely why I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Although, I can't fairly make this comparison as I have never shot with Elinchrom. No one out here rents Elinchrom equipment.

The fight is between the Elinchrom Ranger RX which will give me 1100ws and can power two heads vs AcuteB 600 which will give me about half the power and can only power one head, and frankly, will still cost more. I could save up for the 7B, but I'm not quite sure the price difference is justified by the bump in quality. The general consensus seems to be that Elinchrom will be more than good enough.

Damn you, photography, why must you be such an expensive hobby?!

[rajat]

Now that I finally have enough money, I'm having buyer's remorse, and I haven't even bought them yet!! Why is photography so expensive?? :-/

[GenuineRolla]

Right now I have 3 Alien Bee B800's. I, like you, shoot on location all of the time. Although the b800's are great to use out doors and have plenty of power for a single person, It's hard for me to get f/13 or so when shooting bands (groups). I usually use the 22" beauty dish or large octabox on a boom, which takes some light...(I want to say something like a 1/3 to 1/2 of a stop but i'm not entirely sure/exact). There's times when I need to have the background a few stops darker when there is a lot of ambient sunlight but that can be hard when i'm limited to 1/200th's and f/9-f/10. It's just nice to be able to have the option to darken the ambient when needed. I can always power down the b1600, if need be. So, for me, the B1600 is enough. With the type of work that you do, you just might be fine with the Zeus.